The Conflict Of The Civil War - 968 Words

Throughout the history of the United States, nothing has served as a catalyst of societal restructuring and reform as war. Following the internal conflict of the civil war, the country experienced a state of peace with a focus on reconstruction and betterment of the overall public. These years of peace came to a close with the eruption of the extremely controversial Spanish American war, the first bloodshed America administered on foreign soil. Following the quelling of the controversial feelings the American public had towards external intervention, global conflicts have served as a necessary element of societal growth. From the beginning of the Spanish American war, through the end of disheartening engagement in Vietnam, war has†¦show more content†¦The war cemented the idea that the United States was a guardian of liberty abroad as well as created a cultural connect between the North and South. The country had won the war not as two separated segments, but a single c ommunal front. This mindset carried on throughout later conflicts. This cultural concept is most noticeably questioned during the period of the Vietnam War. Mainly students, antiestablishment hippies, and minority groups in particular opposed this war on moral grounds. Their beliefs were that Vietnam was â€Å"an unjust, evil, and futile war.†1 Photographs and corresponding’s from the battle front that were printed in the media further cemented the idea that the United States was contributing to unjust and unnecessary blood shed. Martin Luther King preaches his beliefs on the subject. â€Å"Polls reveal that almost fifteen million Americans explicitly oppose the war in Vietnam†¦ the Vietnamese people proclaimed their own independence in 1945†¦ yet our government refused to recognize them.†2 This lack of moral basis for war shook the countries belief in America, the great defender of freedom. War has also drastically effect the United States e conomic status. Going into the Spanish-American war, the country was plagued by poverty of its citizens. â€Å"Look over the world today- poverty everywhere.†3 As a whole, the country was poor with exception of some families in the North. Life in the workplace was